The Mighty Ducks: The Next Generation
by IfYourNotWeirdYourNotNormal
Summary: Lillian (Lily) Conway was anything but slow, weak, and dumb. She was fast when it came to faking out her opponents, strong when it came knocking them over, and smart when it came down to her and the goalie. Even though she was just 12, her future was right in front of her. But what happens when one game could possibly change her whole life? What happens after?
1. The Incident

**My first FanFiction :) I hope you like it! Disclaimer- I own nothing but Lily.**

**The Incident**

Lillian took a shaky breath. Even though she lived on the ice, her face tingled with coldness. She got into position at the center of the ice. Her opponent was bigger than her, way bigger. After all, being the only girl on her team, she was used to big guys, but this one by far was the biggest. She looked up to him. His dark eyes peered from inside the mask.

"You're goin' down, Ice Princess." His voice was low and mean. She disliked it when the guys called her a girly name on the ice. She scowled, and when the puck dropped from the refs hand, she was gone. The puck flew behind her to her team mate Kyle, and they raced to the other side. The puck was then taken by the big dude on center ice, Lily didn't care, she went at him with such force, he dropped to the ground, giving her the chance to turn back around and score for her team.

The boy was up, off the ground standing there like an idiot, she took her helmet off, revealing her long blonde hair. "That's for calling me 'Princess,' Pansy." The look on his face clearly spoke for itself, he didn't know that she was a girl.  
She skated back over to her team, while they did a line change. She took a couple swigs of water, when her dad, Charlie Conway showed up behind her.

"Lil, that was a great hit. Good come back." He smiled.  
Taking a deep breath, she smiled and said, "Thanks Dad." Her dad was the best in the world, he taught her everything, even school. Hockey was her and her dads life, even her mothers, until she had Lily, then it was all about family. Her dad was on a Minor Travel Hockey team, and she and her mom traveled with him.  
Her coach had walked up to her, grinning like he never had before. "Conway, that was a good play, and we needed that. This is one of the best teams in the league. Most of them are on a peewee travel hockey team, and you've just beat out their best player." His words, 'best player' ran through her mind. That made her nervous. She shook her head as she focused on the game.

They were now tied. A championship game cannot end with a tie. Her coach called a line change, the last one. "Now or Never," she spoke quietly to herself. She wasn't center this time, but the puck was past to her. She darted like a bullet down the line. That's when things got difficult. She took a deep breath. Two of the opposing team's biggest guys chased her. They didn't necessarily block her, but when an opening came she took her chance. The puck slid under their feet, and was taken by Kyle.

She slid through the opening so fast, Kyle flew the puck back to her, the two big guys on her tail now. She faked the goalie as she flew around the back of the net. The closest gap she got, she took it. As the last bell dinged, stating that the shot had been made, the buzzer went off. The game was over. The one guy on the opposing team raged with anger. She debated whether or not to take her helmet off. He was to her back, and when she decided to take it off, she dropped it. She was going to celebrate with her team. A mistake.

She was by the wall now, looking at the crowd as she skated around. Her first Championship win. The last thing she saw was her dads cheeky grin, jumping up and down. Then she was hit with such force, her head hit the glass, shattering it. The wall crumpled down as she fell and everything went black.

Charlie Conway's mind was racing. He jumped over bleachers and a few people as well. "Lily!" He yelled over the gasps. Several people were on the phone now. He finally made it to the crowd of people, shoving them away. He received a few complaints, but he didn't care. His daughter lied there, glass in her face, blood was everywhere. The coach kneeled down over his star player. All her teammates rushed over.

"Don't worry, Charlie, the ambulance is on their way." His voice low and soft. Charlie grabbed his daughters hand. He brushed away some of the glass on her face, with his other hand. Coach Krill checked her pulse. "She's still here, don't worry Charlie, your girl is a tough one, she can do it." Her mother, Julie stood above her with tears in her eyes.

"Come on Lil, open your eyes." Charlie whispered under his breath. Nothing. Zip. Nada.  
The ambulance finally arrived, and put her on a stretcher, the young man, who knocked her over was sitting with his father over near security, while the police asked his coach some questions. The young man went by the name of Silas Johnson, the age of 13 years old, and had a full scholarship to a major private school the next year, that is until now. The tears filled up in the boys eyes. He couldn't believe what he had done.

They loaded Lily in the ambulance and Charlie climbed in. Julie told him that she was following behind in the truck, and that she would meet him at the hospital. The last thing he saw before the doors of the ambulance had closed, was Silas Johnson and his coach both being put into the back of a police car, being taken into custody.

Two weeks had gone by, and the results were horrific already. Lily Conway still hadn't woken up yet. Her body condition was not the best with a broken arm, displaced hip, and a broken ankle. The boy and his coach had planned it. Charlie had suspected, but he knew the boy had doubted his doing, but it didn't matter, he did it anyway.

Charlie was there, at her side almost 24/7, unless Julie had told him to go get something to eat, or go to the restroom, or at least go home and take a shower. No matter what, he would always come back, to sit in that same seat right by her side.  
He had always had that strong bond with his daughter. At first when the doctor had told the young, newly wedded couple that they would be expecting a girl, he was a little weary, because he didn't know how she would turn out. He was never good when it came to girls, but when Lily was three years old, she ran to her father wearing his first Ducks

Jersey like an oversized dress, that was XXXL, she looked up to him and said, "Daddy, teach me how to play hockey." It didn't necessarily come out quite like that, but he knew what she meant. Ever since then, she's been his little hockey star and he's been her role model.

Lily had no signs of brain damage, but the doctor had told them not to get their hopes up.

At the moment, his coach from his Minor league team had called, after hearing the news. "Conway, the board has spoken and they've agreed to let you take all the time you need. How is Lily?"

"Still hasn't woken up, but she will. I know it. Thank You, Coach for calling." Charlie's voice was soft but hopeful.

"Of course she will, she is after all your daughter. Lillian Conway, tough girl. She's going to be fine. I have faith in her." He said as he decided to let Charlie go. "Just keep me posted, though."

"Will do, bye Coach." And he hung up the phone. During the first three weeks in the hospital, Lily had been visited by many, including all of her teammates. Even though season was over, they all still called themselves a team. Her close friend Kyle Markey, brought her the Championship Trophy and set it beside the hospital bed. He stayed for a little while on his first visit, then he started visiting less and less.

Charlie was surprised when a couple old friends showed up at the hospital to see Lily. "Portman, Luis, Fulton! What are you guys doing here?" Charlie smiled slightly, happy to see faces.

"Dude, you and Lily were on the County news yesterday," Fulton began, "We all met up and drove over here together. How is she?"

Charlie said the same thing over and over. "Still hasn't woken up. But she will. She has to." Portman brought him in for a firm hug. Mumbling words of encouragement.

"Charlie, you have done an amazing job raising this young lady. You and Julie both." He took a glance at Julie who was sleeping on the couch. "Lil is so strong, and so are you. She gets it from you. Never quit fighting, and she won't. Don't give up on her, and she won't give up on you." Portman looked at his two friends and then walked over to Lily, stroked her cheek softly and mumbled something under his breath, and walked over and sat in a seat.

Luis grabbed his daughters hand. "You got this Lil, always remember what I told you. 'Never stop fighting for what you believe in.'"

Fulton smiled down at her. "You will always be that little girl with those big blue eyes that everyone got lost in. I just pray that I get to see them again soon." He leaned down and kissed her head and sat over by Luis.

The four Ducks sat around, talking to each other, a catching up, when they heard a mumble. They thought it was Julie, but Charlie knew better. Julie has never mumbled in her sleep. Only Lily did. He immediately stood up, walked over to his daughters side. "Lil, wake up." He whispered. Her head moved, and he smiled in delight. Portman had woke Julie up, and now she rushed over to her baby girl. Lily had mumbled something that they really couldn't understand.

She then began to speak softly, as if she was dreaming, "Jordan." She whispered faintly, but he heard her. Julie stroked Lil's cheek, and slowly Lily's eyes fluttered open, noticing five familiar pairs of eyes staring at her. "What's-" she touched her throat with her good hand, she had croaked her first word. She tried again, "What happened?"

"Baby, you're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?" Julie asked.

"Sorta, my memory is still a little blurry." She said in a softer voice.

"Well, do you at least know who we are?" Her mother laughed.

Lily nodded. "Momma, Luis, Uncle Portman, Uncle Fulton and," she looked at Charlie and smiled. "Daddy." He returned the smile. Portman and Fulton aren't really her uncles, they had just insisted on having her call them that because of how close to the family they are.

The Doctor had come in and asked her a few questions, afterwards he met with Charlie and Julie outside in the hallway for a chat. "Well, she has suffered from some memory loss, but that is only temporarily. Don't be surprised if she wakes up in the middle of the night in cold sweat from nightmares-this is normal for patients who have been through terrifying incidents. She will need to keep the waist brace on at all times, until I say she is good to go." He paused for a minute, and looked down. "She is going to have to be in a wheelchair, until her hips are back into place, and healed. Once they're healed, we'll go from there."

"Will she ever be able to play hockey again?" Julie asked.

"Like I said Mrs. Conway. We'll cross that line when it gets here."

They both walked in the room again with their daughter. All that mattered to Charlie was that his daughter was alive, with a smile on her beautiful face.


	2. Green Walls

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing :( But I do own Lily and Jordan**

**Green Walls**

(Two Years later)

She slumped in the front seat of her dads red pickup. Her mom had just woke up in the backseat. Lily looked out the window and recognized the familiar neighborhood around her. The trees leaves were starting to come off as the end of fall was near. It was nice and breezy outside, perfect time to bundle up by the fire, and drink a nice cup of coco.

They came to a stop in front of an old home with white brick walls, and green window sills. Her dad hopped out of the truck, and she climbed out too. She stretched her legs, and took in a deep breath of the fresh morning air. "We're back." Charlie Conway said happily followed by a yawn. Yes they were officially back in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Home of the Mighty Ducks.

Boxes were already inside. Charlie's team had helped them move back last week. This was the first time Lily had been back since she was eight and now she was 14. There were so many memories, from the creaks in the wood flooring to the frozen pond in the back. She smiled as she remembered faces whom she shared memories with.

Her parents had moved inside, when she caught a glimpse of a boy her age, with dark short hair, who looked really familiar. He smiled and waved from the distance. Without thinking about it, she did the same. She shook her head and ran up the steps into her house.

It was a big home, but smaller than she remembered. Then again, she was just eight years old the last time she stepped foot in here. Right in front of her was a wall, and as she looked up, the wall leaned closer and closer, then it stopped. She then remember that on the other side of the wall was the staircase.

To the left of the wall was a hallway leading to the kitchen, and to the right was the living room. She walked down the hall and passed the door to her parents room and the half bathroom under the stairs, until she came to the kitchen. It was small but homey, and had a nice island in the middle, with three stools scooted under the bar side. Her mom was already there, cleaning dishes to put up in the cabinet.

"Well, how does it feel to be back up North?" She asked.

Lily shrugged. She honestly didn't know what to say. Wasn't sure if she was happy. There was no doubt that she was going to miss the Florida beaches and the warm weather all year round, but then again, she wasn't happy living in Florida, until she woke up in the hospital that day. She made her way up the staircase, she sighed when the third step creaked. Her thoughts drifted to a memory before she left.

It was a winter day, and Lily had just spent the whole day on the pond. She drug inside unhappy, because her mother demanded her to come clean up for dinner. As she made her way upstairs, she dropped her skates on accident and she chipped the wood off. Her dad had to glue it back. Ever since then, it's always creaked.

As soon as she made it to the stairs end, she smirked, knowing that this open area would be known as her area to hangout with friends-assuming that some of her friends still lived here. This used to be her dads study, and his place to have his team come for parties, or some of the Ducks get together for reunions. Now since she was going to be in high school, her dad said that this would be her area, and he and her mom would have the down stairs living room.

To her right was the guest bedroom, and her bathroom. She rounded the corner of the stair case and made her way to the end of the carpet to a door that was her bedroom. She thought to herself, 'Everything has probably changed.' But when she opened the door, she had dropped her bag to reveal dark green walls with yellow lining. She couldn't believe here eyes. It was still the same color, same everything. She whipped her head around to the wall beside her door. Tears welled up in her eyes. The hole was still there, in the shape of her small fist, that had punched the plaster on her last day before she left. She still couldn't believe it was still there. After all of these years.

There was paint cans on the floor. It was silver paint, just like she had wanted. She debated on whether or not to get started. She realized that there was nothing else to do, and it beats helping her parents downstairs, besides, she loved to paint.

It took her an hour to prime the walls. Except one. She couldn't do it, something told her not to paint that last big wall. It didn't feel right. As she waited for the walls to dry, she uncovered the black beanbag chair and sat down and decide to read a book. She wasn't really paying attention to the words, she just seemed to be distracted. After quite a few hours, the walls were pretty dry and ready to be painted her shiny silver color.

She ended up falling asleep when she was finished. Her dad had found her passed out on the chair, book in hand.

When she had woken up in the morning she was on the couch up stairs in the open room. Sunlight drifted in from the huge window, blinding her for just a moment, until her eyes adjusted. She stood up and stretched and went back to work. She couldn't help but want to get it all finished.

Her dad had walked in to help her build her bed, and move her dresser into place. Other than that she was done by noon.

Sitting on her bed, she went throughout a couple photo albums of her and her parents over the past two years, trying to decide which ones to frame.

Then it hit her. She dropped everything, hopped off her bed and walked over to her desk and sat on the floor. She searched the carvings of the wood until she found and open crack and lifted the wood out of place. It was still there, lying in the small hole in the ground, the small homemade Mighty Ducks lunch box her and an old friend created when they were just six years old.

It's amazing how she couldn't have possibly remembered her childhood memories before the incident, but now her memories were clear and fresh in mind, as if they just happened. She grabbed the metal box carefully and opened it. The first thing she saw was a photo of her dads team, the original Mighty Ducks. The next was of her and her dad, her first day on the ice. The next photo, the tears that were building up in her eyes fell. It was of her and her best friend-at the time-sitting out with her arms drooped down round his neck, smiling at the camera.

She couldn't help but cry, they were so close. She always cherished the time they had together, even if it were just those five minute chats on the phone, or just passing on the road. They were the best of friends, and now what were they? Acquaintances? No, more like Ex-Best Friends, if you'd recommend that as a title. They had a huge fight that last day before they had left, and they never made up, even when she wanted to five minutes after he'd left her house. She hadn't seen him since then, but she figured that it wasn't important now.

Her dad walked in on her, "hey Lil-" he stopped when he heard a sniff. "-What's wrong?" He walked around the bed and she lifted the picture. He sighed when he saw the boy. He came to sit right beside her on the floor. "You know, when you were waking up in the hospital, you said his name?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What?" She whispered.

He nodded, "Yeah, you said it so low, that I could barely hear you, but you said it. 'Jordan,' you whispered. I didn't know what it meant, you were still upset with him, even though you hadn't seen him for years. You said his name, out of all people, his name. That's got to mean something."

Lily looked back at the photo of there smiling faces, then she face her dad again. "I miss him daddy." Her head buried in his chest, he wrapped her in a hug.

"I know you do baby girl." He spoke softly. "Are you hungry? Because your mom made lunch, and it looks good." He said with a big smile. She nodded, while putting the box back in the ground, covering it with the wood.  
-

Two weeks had passed and there was nothing Lily wanted to do more but get out of the house. When she got her chance, it was nothing she wanted to do. Her dad had went to go volunteer to be the peewee hockey coach at the local hockey rink. He was going to coach District 5, also known as the Ducks. She sighed, unknowing what to do. She didn't want to walk inside the hockey rink. She had avoided doing so for the past two years.

It was Friday morning when her mom woke her up to get started with school. She was homeschooled online. She never went to a regular school since her dad had started playing and traveling a lot. Her dad had finally decided to let go on his hockey career, well at least right now. He figured he needed to spend sometime with his family without the distraction of hockey. As the time passed, Lily knew her father wanted to do something with hockey so when her mother mentioned coaching, he knew exactly where he wanted to coach. They packed up and moved back to Minneapolis.

When noon came, she was done with her work. She had decided to leave the kitchen and make her way up the stairs and go into her room. She walked over to the balcony doors and opened them to the cold air.

It was early October, and the air was nice and cool. She imagined that it would start to snow sometime next month as winter drew near. She couldn't help but admit to herself that she'd missed it. The weather was perfect for her, but every time she would look down to that beautiful pond, fear creeped over her. The memory of falling came rushing back. It wasn't as strong as it used to be, but her scar on her head hurt, and sometimes she would get a migraine.

The scene was beautiful right in front of her. She had noticed this everyday she came out, but today it looked perfect, it was just a little overcast, so the air was filled with mist. She could see a few of the houses close to her, like the one next to her. It was more of a two story log cabin, gorgeous inside no doubt.

Down in the back, there was a little river that separated the houses, but a bridge that connected them together. The leaves on the trees were a bright orange color, and some were yellow and brown. It honestly looked like a perfect fall day.

She honestly couldn't help the fact that her mind drifted off to old memories, but there were so many, so vivid in her mind that she could honestly remember the scent of her memory. Most were good, with occasional upsetting moments, but nothing could compare to what happened in Florida. She liked it there. Afterwards, but she came back to the north with a sun kissed tan, and lighter hair that the sun had dyed naturally. Her tan had brought out the blue in her eyes. She no longer looked like a northern girl, she looked like a beach chick.

After her cast had come off, she had lost a lot of weight. Twenty pounds at most. It wasn't too healthy considering she was originally 123 and became a 103. It was so difficult for her to walk again, she had to learn by taking baby steps. The guys she hung out with-mostly her hockey teammates, who never mentioned hockey around her-helped her get back on her feet slowly.

Her dad had encouraged her to at least take on exercising so she could stay in shape, and build muscle. At first it was hard, because she would start to hurt, but she pulled through, and now she looks like a girl that you would've never had guessed was put in a wheelchair and had a hip brace on.

She brought out her cushions from right inside the door, and placed them on the chair that they belonged to. She had thought about music, but she decided that she just wanted peace and quiet. A few minutes passed and she shivered.

"I thought you might've been cold." Her mom said from behind. Lily jumped just a bit.

"Gosh, you scared me." She laughed a little bit.

"I thought you might want a cup of coco. It's a bit chilly out here. Something I'm going to have to get used to again." She said handing Lily her cup.

Lily sighed. "It's different but the same." Her mom narrowed her eyes. "I mean from before we left." She understood by nodding her head. "No doubt that I missed it here, but just when I got used to living in Ft. Myers, we left. I don't even look like I'm from here, with my sun kissed tan. I doubt anyone would recognize me."

Her mother scoffed jokingly. "Baby, no one would recognize you anyway. You're grown up. You look older, your figure is coming in. You're turning into a young lady." She agreed. She did have a figure now, not necessarily the curviest, but it was still a nice athletic build, just like her mother.

They sat for a while in comfortable silence, just enjoying the view. Lily's coco was almost done. She missed the taste of cinnamon in her mouth, and was glad to have it back. Her mom was reading a book, and seemed to be lost in the words, her eyes drifted slowly down the line, studying the book, word for word. Lily laughed silently, knowing where she had gotten her interest in books.

Lily had soon dozed off into a dreamless nap, until her mom shook her awake. It seemed like seconds before, but it turned out to be a couple hours.  
"Lil, your dad needs you to come with him to the rink." Her mom said.

Lily groaned in response. "Do I have to?"

Her mother nodded. "Oh, you'll get over it. One day Lil." She said, jokingly.  
Lily got up from her chair, grabbed her brown uggs and trudged her way down stairs. Her dad was waiting patiently for her at the front door. He smiled, hoping to get a smile back. She wasn't going to do it. As much as it killed her, she walked right past him and made her way to the red pick up. He looked at her mother, and she rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"We'll be back in two hours." He told his wife. When he got in the front seat of the vehicle, he turned to his daughter. "Can I please have a smile Lil?"

Okay, so she did her best, so she turned to him and gave him a small smirk.  
"I'll help you bring the equipment in but I'm not staying in there. I'll wait in the truck." She said, no longer facing him.

He pulled out of the neighborhood. "Wow, I can actually get Lillian Conway to step back into a hockey arena? I must be pretty special. Besides, what are you going to do for two in a half hours?" He shook his head with sarcasm in his tone.

She turned to the back seat and grabbed the copy of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and held it up. "Dad, I have Percy Jackson, and the radio. The truck doesn't have to be running in order for me to listen." She smiled.

"And what about air?" He asked.

"It's called cracking the windows?"

"And the heat?"

This time she laughed, knowing he was trying to make any excuse just for her to join him in the hockey arena. "Dad! It's 50 degrees outside. I think I'll be fine."

"What about the cold then?" He asked, knowing he was losing.

She was still laughing. "Dad, I'm wearing your thick hockey jersey that's still two sizes too big, and I have a pair of jeans and my uggs. I'll be fine." She said honestly.

"One day Lil. You'll figure it out. One day." He said.

"Yeah, that's what everyone says." She mumbled under her breath, thinking he didn't hear her, but he did.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. When they arrived, no one was there, just yet. He told her where the locker room was and she took the box of supplies. She walked in, and two guys were standing in the room. One was her height with brown, short spiked hair, and big lips. He sort of reminded her of Danny from the movie Grease. The other kid was tall with brown, long, shaggy hair and brown eyes. They both looked familiar. They were both putting pads on when they noticed her.

"Sorry boys, but I just need to set this in the coaches office. You mind pointing me in the right direction?" She asked.

The boy with the big lips spoke. "Oh, it's around the corner." He pointed to his left, behind him.

She smiled, thankfully finding it. After she walked back out, she headed for the door outside. "Thanks." She opened the door and left. When she got closer to the truck, she noticed a few more kids arriving, including a girl that looked about her age, except she had vanilla ice cream blonde hair that fell just past her lower back. Lily thought to herself, 'Wow, she must be pretty tough to play with all of those guys.'

'Just like you.' Her mind spoke back to her, subconsciously. She shook her head, 'no, I'm not tough anymore. At least I don't feel like it.' She waited, thinking that she just imagined the whole thing the first time. 'Yes, you still are. Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise.'

She tried opening the door to the pickup and it was locked. "Ugh! Father! You did this on purpose!" She said aloud to herself. She waited a minute, then made her way to the front doors.

She walked in, and her dad skated out on the ice, but was talking to someone there. When she saw the smooth ground, she knew that the Zamboni had just cleaned it up for hockey practice. She stared at the ice tempted to step out and walk over to her dad. Instead, she just froze in place for just a moment, looking at the ground. She zoned back in and rolled her eyes. Looking up, her dad was talking to the group again. "Coach!" She called out, her voice echoing the arena. She had no idea why she had called her dad coach, but it just seemed right, knowing where they were.

All nine players eyes looked over to her, and so did her dad. He smiled, and skated over. "Are you sure Lil?" He asked hopefully.

She shook her head. "No Dad." She looked at the ice. "I'm not ready." She said quietly. She held out her hand, wanting the keys.

He pulled them from his pocket, and handed them to her. "It's okay, just don't keep the truck on the whole time, it's still cold out there." He kissed her forehead, and skated back to the group who were still looking at her.

One boy caught her eye. He was tall, thin, but medium build. He had short, dark hair, tan skin, those natural pink lips, and bright aqua eyes. Her eyes widened in realization to who he was. She looked over at the man who her dad was talking to a few minutes before and he smiled and waved to her. She smirked just a little, but looked back over to the boy. He still looked at her and then he smiled, unwillingly. He raised his hand as if waving to her. She couldn't help it, but she smiled and waved back, turning around and walking out the door.

Her thoughts drifted back to what she had asked herself many times before. 'Do you think we'll make up?' There was little possibility at the time, but she smiled excitedly to herself. Jordan Banks was back.


	3. Eye Contact

**Thank You RedWingChris for the review, follow, and favorite! Really appreciated :) I hope you like this new chapter!**

**Eye Contact**

(Jordan's house)

Jordan Banks sat on his bed in his old bedroom with his earbuds in his ears. He and his parents had just moved back to Minneapolis two weeks ago. There were so many memories held in this very neighborhood, on the very pond back behind his house. He walked to his bedroom door and looked up to the Ducks poster that covered the entrance to the attic.

He pulled the string quietly, trying not to make such a racket. He climbed up the stairs and pulled the attic door back into place. No one knew about it, except one. This one person was gone though, she had moved away before he did. He had made a mistake the day she left, and he never got to say he was sorry. It hurt him just to think about it. She was his best friend, and he did her wrong.

He opened the doors to the small balcony that looked over the pond. He glanced back at her house, the one that was owned by the one and only, Lillian Conway. He could see her balcony to her old room. He remembered that he used to sneak out of his house at night and climb up to the balcony and sneak in her room. They would talk, and laugh, and her parents wouldn't know because they were downstairs sleeping. He smiled, remembering the good old times.

Secretly when Jordan was little, he imagined them growing up and getting married. He laughed to himself at how ridiculous it sounded, but to be honest, he never let go of the thought of seeing her again. Something told him that soon was his answer. He could imagine it himself, he would apologize to her, make sure that she knew that he was wrong and she wasn't. He wanted to set things right, but he never got the chance to talk or see her over the years even though their dads were still good friends. When their parents got together, they would stay separately at their own grandparents houses. He was quite upset.

Then he imagined at how different she must look. Being older, she must be taller, prettier, figure coming in. He couldn't help but think that she would look like her mom. They did look alike in a photo they received in the mail back when she was 11, except she was blonde and her mother was a little more light brunette, and they went on vacation and ended up sending a postcard to his parents.

His thoughts were faltered when a rock was thrown up on the balcony, hitting his foot. He looked down to see a tall, brown haired boy with freckles on his face. He looked up smiling. Jordan smirked back, knowing that he knew this person, but needed a closer look. Just then, the kid started climbing. Only one person knew how to do that, and that was Lily. Jordan narrowed his eyes as the boy slid over the ledge, and inside the attic.

"Jesus, Banks. Did your room get higher off the ground? And since when do you have a balcony?" His voice clicked in Jordan's mind.

He laughed. "Dude this is the attic but don't tell anyone. Got it Averman?" Jordan said, making sure that it stayed between the two of them.

"How you doing, Banks?" Connor Averman asked as Jordan took his buds out of his ears.

"Good man, feels great to be back, and I'm staying." Jordan said happily. Connors face lit up in delight. "I'm also playing hockey, so I'm assuming since you live in the same neighborhood, we're gonna be Ducks together?"

Connor nodded his head. "Yeah! Definitely man! First pre-season practice is this afternoon and we're gonna wear our dads first Duck jerseys like we did when we were little right?" He looked down, realizing that he was already wearing his. "Oh, well this thing doesn't need cleaning anyway." He laughed.

Jordan joined. They talked about everything that was going on in their lives, and what did happen while they were apart for the three years. Jordan moved when he was 11. Connor and him were like brothers, and nothing could keep them from talking, until they lost numbers and could never find out their new ones.

"So, did you know that some family moved into the Conway's old home two weeks ago?" Connor asked. Connor lived next door to them.

Jordan glanced over at Connor, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, some girl and her parents. They're from Florida. They had the license tag on the back of their truck."

"Any idea of their names?"

Connor shook his head. "No, and I haven't bothered to go up and ask. She looks familiar, but it can't be the person I'm thinking of. It couldn't be."

"Lily?" Jordan's voice was soft and low. Connor nodded, then started shaking his head, as if a billion thoughts had run through his mind. Jordan got up and walked to the small refrigerator and opened it and grabbed a can of pop. "Want some pop?"

"Sure." Jordan brought him some and leaned back against the ledge of the balcony. It was about noon. Both boys were homeschooled by their parents because of traveling so much over the years. Averman traveled less, but Jordan knew he didn't want to go to a regular school, just so he could miss days he needed.

Just then Connor stood up and walked to the ledge. "Look." He said. Jordan turned around to see a girl walk out on to the balcony of what used to be Lily Conway's room. He could barely see her, but she was tall and had blonde hair she wore a yellow long sleeve shirt on and had light denim skinny jeans on. Jordan couldn't help but agree with Averman on how familiar she looked, but their was something about her that made him know that it wasn't Lily, but he just didn't know what.

"Conner, how did you know that I was back?" Jordan realized he never was able to contact Connor because of the connection loss a year ago, and Jordan didn't know he was moving back till a month before they decided to move.

"I was hanging out with one of my friends Landon Duncan, and we ran into your dad yesterday as we were skating around the lake. I had asked to see you, but he said that you were in town with your mom. Told me to come by later, but Landon didn't leave until late, and I rather would have spent time like this just talking, instead of having Landon, whom you don't know into our conversations that he wouldn't understand." Connor had a point at the ending. It would have been awkward to talk in front of his friend, especially when mentioning Lily.

Jordan nodded in understanding. "So, who's the coach for our team?"

"I don't know to be honest, the last coach bailed. He moved to California." Connor didn't seem to upset about the coach leaving.

Just then, the two boys heard a name being called from down stairs. Jordan looked up. "That'd be my mom. I have to go do some reading for school, and then do some chores, and then get ready for practice." He smiled.

"And that's my que to leave." He hopped over the ledge onto the roof. "Thanks for the pop, I'll see you at practice."

"Be careful Averman." Jordan said while closing the door.

Just before the door officially closed, Averman called out, "hey Jordan," Jordan opened the one door again, and looked down at Connor. "It's good to have you back, bro." Then Connor hopped down safely and made a run for his house.

It took Jordan five minutes to get down the steps and have everything locked back in place, before his mom knocked on the door. He immediately put the buds in his ears and turned the volume up, while sitting on his bed with sports illustrated in his face. His mom walked in and smiled. He saw her and played everything cool.

"Hey Mom." He said a little to loud, still with the music blasting in his ears. He took the buds out and turned off the music. "Wow, I said that really loud didn't I?"

She laughed and nodded. "At least you were reading something." She looked at the magazine he was still holding. She grabbed the book on his desk and sat it in his lap. Les Miserables, not the book he would have chosen, but his mom insisted. This was at a 10th grade reading level. He was only in the 9th, but then again, he was in all of the honors classes, so he was intended on reading higher level reading books. It wasn't that he didn't like reading, it just had to be the right story to read. He hadn't even started the book.

"Here, if you read the first section, which is not that many pages, ill let you off early. You at least need to read a section every day. If you space it out correctly, it's not as bad as what it seems." She said.

"Mom, there's over 1,300 pages in this book. It'll take me forever to finish it." Jordan complained.

"That's why I'll quiz you every other section you read, just so you're understanding it." She saw his expression and sighed. "Jordan, honey, this is being counted as your yearly grade. It's a big grade. And I know you can do it."

He looked at the book for a minute and then opened to page one. "Good. Only the first section. Then when your done, I'm gonna asked you a question relating to it and if you answer me correctly, I'm gonna let you move on and do a couple things around the house to help me and then get you ready for practice." She kissed his forehead and walked out of his room.

At first Jordan thought that it was a sappy beginning, but then it turned out okay at the end of the first section. He walked downstairs, confident enough to know the answer to his mothers question. He assumed she was going to ask the a more difficult question, but when she asked, "what was the Bishops name?" He literally flipped out of his chair.

"Really?" He scoffed. "You made me read 48 pages that I examined for like five minutes each just so you could ask me what the guys name was that was in the first paragraph, no wait the first sentence?"

She laughed at his remark. "Well, what's his name?"

"M. Charles Francois-Bienvenu Myriel." He said as he shook his head.

"Don't expect me to do this every time. You need to read it no matter what. You never know what I'm going to ask you." She said very clearly. "Now go start your load of laundry and clean your bathroom. Make sure things are picked up in your bedroom, and then put you hockey stuff right outside the door so when your dad gets back, he can take you to practice."

He got right to it. Knowing his mother, she inspects everything and wants to make sure the house is cleaned up nicely, just in case people ever come over. He didn't have much laundry since he keeps up with it. The benefits of being an only child and having your own living space upstairs. He scrubbed the sink in his bathroom, and made sure the floors were water free. When he got to his room, he made his bed, and set his laptop back on his desk where it belongs, and put away the clean clothes he had just taken out of the dryer.

He grabbed his hockey bag out of his closet and put on his dads old Ducks jersey, just like he said he would do for Averman, and he made his way downstairs. His dad came home just in time.

"Hey son, let me just go change my shirt and we'll be out of here." He said, walking to his room. Jordan said he'd wait in the car, and his mom had wished him luck.

Jordan breathed in. He was pumped. His dad came out and hopped in the drivers seat. "You excited?" He asked.

"Definitely! I mean Connor's gonna be there, so I'm excited." Jordan said.

"Oh, so you did see Connor today? Sorry, I was going to tell you last night at dinner, but the thought had slipped my mind." He said apologetically.

Jordan shrugged. "No problem. You had a lot on your mind yesterday, so I wasn't worried about it. Right now I'm just ready to get on the ice. I haven't been since we got here and it's driving me crazy."

Adam Banks laughed. "I know son, I know."

Once they got to their destination, they walked in and a lady told them that the arena was closed for peewee practice. "I'm actually here for practice ma'am." Jordan said nicely. She nodded, and went back to working. He sat on the bench, putting his skates on and adjusted his pads before skating out onto the ice to meet seven pairs of eyes including Connor's, which make eight.

He skated around and stopped by Jordan's side. "Banks, I want you to meet the team." He paused before going into introductions starting from the left to right. "This is Devon Neilson." He pointed to a guy a little shorter than me that had a 50s hair do, but it seemed to have fit him. He had green eyes and was tan. Didn't look like much of an ice skater.

Connor continued. "Lawrence Mark." He was taller than Devon, and had long shaggy brown hair, and brown eyes. Jordan immediately thought of him as one of the pretty boy types. "And his sister Kylie." She was next to his side and took off her helmet. Jordan would have never had guessed she was a girl until she did that. She and her brother had a similar resemblance to each other, especially when it came to their eyes.

"Landon Duncan, and his sister Lizzy." The boys name he recognized from their earlier conversation in the attic. He was tall and lanky, had short, strawberry blonde with a red tint hair color, and bluish-green eyes. His sister was very blonde with long hair and same color eyes.

"Michael and Zach Germaine." Michael was the same height as Lizzy with longer dark curly hair, and dark eyes with a few freckles. Zach was shorter with short light brown hair, puppy dog brown eyes and freckles everywhere on his face.

"Rafael Goldberg." He was short and a little chunky. It wouldn't surprise Jordan if he took on the goalies position, just like his father had. He had black hair, brown eyes, and wore glasses.

The last kid looked like he was up to no good. "I'm Cole Johnson." He said himself with an attitude. He was shorter than Jordan, with dark brown hair with red streaks going through it, he had hazel eyes and really long eye lashes. He tried to make himself look intimidating, but Jordan just ignored it.

Connor finally concluded. "Team, this is our newest member Jordan Banks."

Devon skated up to him and shook his hand. "I remember, we were in the third grade together, and so was Lawrence and Rafael." He looked at Conner. "And this kid." He put him in a head lock and messed with him.

Just then a man skated out onto the ice. He looked really familiar but he just couldn't place his face. He had a slight beard, with kind eyes and an athletic build body. He wasn't old, he was young, couldn't be more than 35, well at least he didn't look it.

Connor tapped Jordan's shoulder. "Man that's the dude that moved in next door in the Conway's house."

"You sure?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, I saw him working out in the yard yesterday at lunch, I think he's trying to fix up the old fire pit."

The man got finished talking to Jordan's dad who seemed to have known him by the look on his face.

"Hi everyone, I'm Charlie Conway and I'll be your coach for this season." He smiled. Jordan's mouth hung slightly open.

"Well," said Connor dumbfounded. "That's why he looked so familiar."

Jordan's mind began to race, if Charlie Conway was here, living back in Minneapolis, then that meant-

"Coach!" A girl called out from the outside the ice. Jordan couldn't believe what his eyes were processing. She wasn't that little girl he played with anymore. She was a women.

Coach Conway skated back over, and he had asked her a question and she shook her head. Her eyes drifted to the ice. The one thing in her eyes that stuck Jordan like lightning, and that was fear. Her eyes held fear. That was odd to him, she had never looked like that before when her eyes looked at the ice, but her head shook vigorously and she held out her hand. Coach had handed her the keys, and he skated back towards the group.

Jordan had never took his eye off of her. Then she locked eyes with him, and she knew. She studied his face when the moment of realization came. She broke eye contacted and looked over to his father who was sitting down, not far from where she stood. He smiled and waved, and she smirked and did the same. Then she looked back at Jordan. He decided to do the smart thing and give her a smile and lift his hand to wave. This time she smiled and waved back, before turning around to leave the building.

He turned to face the group. "Coach Conway?" Asked Kylie. "Who was that?" She asked.

"Oh, that's my daughter Lily." He said.

Devon's mouth dropped. "What? That's Lily? Wow, I didn't even recognize her!"

Lawrence added, "that can't be Lily! She so different! Besides if that were her, why isn't she out here?" Clearly he did know her well enough to know that Lily lived for the ice.

Coach sighed. "To explain the exact reason, would take forever. But long story short, there was an accident and she got hurt. Don't be to harsh on her guys, she's been through a lot in the past two years." He looked at Jordan and Conner after the last sentence. "Alright let's get warm ups started."


	4. Confessions

**Thank You for the reviews! :) I hope you like this chapter! if you have any ideas for the story, please tell.**

**Confessions**

When Charlie got in the pick up, he immediately got on his way home. Lily narrowed her eyebrows. "Something gone wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nope, just called your mother, she's cooking dinner, and we have to get home and freshen up."

"Why?" She asked.

He looked her dead in the eye. "The Banks are joining us for dinner tonight. All three of them." Her heart started pounding rapidly. She instantly became nervous. "They won't be over for another hour in a half."

Even if this was so, it still didn't help the feeling. They had made eye contact. He smiled and waved. She did the same. Without giving it a second thought, she threw her arms around her dad as they came up to the stop light. His expression was taken back by her actions.

"What's this for?"

She lifted her head and she as smiling the biggest she had in a while. She sat back in her seat. "You know why." She said, laughing.

He nodded, as they were finally coming up to their neighborhood. She hadn't noticed at how close they were to the arena, until now. They were home in no time. She shut the door to the truck and ran into the house.

Passing her mom who was in the kitchen, she ran up the stairs. Looking in the mirror, she didn't know what to do with her face. She didn't wear makeup, except for the occasional foundation when a blemish pops up on her face. She wasn't going to change her clothes, especially since her dad had told her that they would do a fire tonight, and theses were her most comfortable clothes.

She stared at the mirror some more, debating with herself. Then someone knocked on her door. She walked over and opened it. No one was there. She thought that because of all the nerves, maybe she had just imagined it, but then someone knocked again. She turned to the sound and shook her head, seeing a figure standing outside her balcony door. She closed her bedroom door and walked over. She opened the door slowly to reveal a boy taller than her with short, dark hair and freckles, with glasses on.

She opened her arms to him. "Hey Connor." He met her in the door way for a hug. "It's so good to see you."  
He broke away and walked inside. "How are you Lil?"  
She gave him her famous, 'Oh really' look. "Could honestly be better, but how are you?" She sat down on her bed.

He sighed slightly. "Fine, could be better." He laughed, trying to mimic Lily, but didn't succeed. "Things have been different since you dropped off the face of the earth two in a half years ago." He put more emphasis towards the end of his sentence. "I'm sorry Lil, you don't know how worried I was. You quit calling, sending me emails, and letters. I didn't know what happened. Hell, I still don't. When I saw you two weeks ago, I thought it was you, but then again, if it wasn't and I was just imagining the whole thing, I didn't want to say anything to look like an idiot." There was a long moment of silence.

"Why?" He asked quietly.

She touched her scar on her head, but she let out a shaky sigh. "Because you remind me of hockey."

He had a low chuckle. "And that's a bad thing? Lil, you love hockey. Unless something has miraculously changed?" Her face never changed. It was sad and hurt. She didn't look at him, she didn't want to start crying, but she had to tell him. "You don't have to tell me."

"Yeah, yeah I do, I owe it to you." She turned her face to him and began her story. "It was the day of my championship game. We had just beat the best team in the area. Well, I did basically. If you put it into their terms. Well their team 'hot shot' was angry because he got beat by a girl. He lost control of his temper. I was fixing to go celebrate with my team on center ice, But he hit me, crashing me into the wall. My head hit the glass first. I had a broken arm, a displaced hip, and a broken ankle. I also had many scars all over my face. Most of them cleared up, besides this one." She pulled her bangs to the side so he could see the white scar across her forehead.

"And you know what sucks? I tried, I really did. When I started walking again, after I got out of that stupid cast I tried to get back on the ice. Was it stupid for me to go out there alone? Yeah it was, but the point is I tried. The first thing that happened, I fell. Couldn't keep my balance, so I just fell. After falling so many times that I did, I gave up." She looked away. "Now I know what your thinking, 'you gave up?' Well yeah, I did. But ever since I tried to get back out on the ice, I've been scared. Because I don't want to go through all of what I did again."

She was going to continue, ramble on about her thoughts, but instead he got up from the chair, walked over to her, and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry I got mad before. Your dad said something about you getting hurt, but I didn't think you would actually say anything."

"Yeah? Well, I'm glad he said something so people don't think wimping out."

"I knew there was a reason." He said honestly, as he walked over to the balcony doors.  
Suddenly her dad called her from down the stairs. "Lil, the Banks are here."

She mouthed to Connor, 'Dinner.' And he said he would come back later. "Oh, Connor, tonight we are doing a bon fire if anyone wants to come hang out." He nodded as he climbed of the ledge, unnoticeably and ran home.

She closed the doors and walked out of her bedroom, down the stairs, and there were all of the parents. "Oh, my." Said Mrs. Banks. "Lily, you've grown up. You're so beautiful!" She came in for a hug, and Mr. Adam after that.

"Well," Charlie said, "the steaks are almost done if anyone wants to come out back."

They all agreed, and that's when she turned to look down the hall. There he stood, looking at her skeptically. She became nervous once again. Jordan smirked, shyly, and took a few steps closer. She did the same, until they were a foot in front of each other. She couldn't believe it, she had to tilt her head up just to see his face. He was at least half a foot taller. His eyes spoke something interesting. Like an apology. She smiled and threw her arms around his neck for a hug. "I'm sorry." She said into his ear.

He instantly responded by wrapping his arms around her back. "No, you have nothing to be sorry about. It was my fault Lil. I did you wrong. You're not supposed to say sorry. I am." She pulled back and looked at him. A tear drew down her cheek. He put his hand to her face and cupped it so he could wipe away the tear. "Lil, I'm sorry. I know it seems weird and all after all of these years to say, but I really am. And I really missed you." He said, bringing her back into a hug.

They stayed like this for a minute, then she stood back and walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed the sweet tea container. She set it on the counter. "Do you want some?" She said, trying to gain her confidence back.

He smiled, "I would love some." She poured him a glass as he sat on one of the bar stools. She leaned against the other side, not wanting to sit down just yet. He took a sip and smiled. "This tea is really good." When he set down the glass, he studied her, his expression went to curiosity. "Today at practice, your dad said you wouldn't get on the ice because you got hurt. What happened?"

Her expression dropped. "It's a long story." She said.

"Well, we have time." He smiled again begging. She decided that she wouldn't let fear overcome her to talk about it, so she took a deep breath and began her story.

Once she finished his facial expression showed hurt, anger, and sympathy. "Now I know why you looked at the ice the way you did."

"Because I was afraid." She couldn't believe she had said the word. She had told herself many times that she would never admit, but something made her feel compelled to say it, but why? Why now? "Wow. I never thought that word would ever come out."

He chuckled. She couldn't help but smirk a little. It was a very attractive chuckle. "Well, you can't say you aren't. No matter how hard you try and hide it. Admit it, it was bound to come out sooner or later." He paused, running his fingers through his dark hair. "Lil, you know you don't have to hide your fear."

"But I don't want to be scared anymore. I just can't help it. I know I'm probably not making sense but I wish I could skate again." She set her hands down on the counter, now messing with her fingers.

His head was down, like he was thinking. Probably thinking about what to say. As he did this, she took a deep breath, gaining her confidence back. She was not weak. She was strong. He looked up at her finally and he took her hands into his. She could tell that it took him a bit of courage to do this, because he noticed how she had not pulled away.

"Lil, I've always known you were destined for greatness. No matter what you do. I bet you that you didn't watch games on television with your dad, because your dad knew you were uneasy about the idea of hockey, but deep down inside you craved to watch, but if you did watch it, your dad would make get back out on the ice, and you don't want to admit to him that you're afraid." His words surprised her. All of it was true, she hated making her dad upset.

Hockey was his game, a big part in his life. She didn't want what she thought, change him and his life. She knew that if she said one thing about it, he would do anything to make all the fear go away. Mainly he would give up playing. But she didn't want that. This would make him sad and depressed, and she knew her father. Hockey is the reason why he hasn't gone through his mid-life crisis, because his life was happy.

The warmth of Jordan's hands made her feel comfortable. "We haven't seen each other in years, and yet, you know me so well."

"Well, spending everyday with you since birth till we were eight, I've learned to pay attention. Listen, if you want to get back out on the ice, I could help you. I know it'll take a while, but all we have is time. We both are still homeschooled, meaning we could finish up early. If you want we could go roller blading first, that way it won't be too difficult when you try the ice. We just need to take baby steps." He said. She smiled at his kindness.

"I've missed that, you know." She looked at him curiously. "Your smile." She felt herself blush.  
She was going to say something back, but the parents walked in. "Oh, were we interrupting something?" Mr. Conway asked.

"No, why?" They asked in unison. He looked down at their hands. She hadn't noticed that hers were still set in his. They both pulled away slowly, looking away. She could tell that her face went two shades darker than before. His face was the same.

Her dad set the steaks down on the counter by the door. "Okay, because I could've always kept them outside for a few more minutes." She didn't look at Jordan, she was still a little embarrassed.

As soon as everyone was seated at the table in the dining room, everyone dug in. Mrs. Banks had brought her homemade Mac and Cheese. It was Lily's favorite food to eat over at their house when she visited. Lily's mom had made mashed potatoes, green beans, and southern style corn bread. Friends in Florida had made it for her family and Mrs. Conway ended up asking them for the recipe.

Dinner was in all, delicious. Jordan seemed to enjoy it as well, considering he was almost done when Lily was half way through.

She giggled. "Got enough to eat Jordan?"

He swallowed his food, took a napkin, wiped his face and looked at her. "What? I haven't had anything since lunch, and your dad worked us hard at practice. I've burned a lot of calories. I'm hungry." He looked away and chuckled.

"You are growing up Jordan. You're so tall, and handsome! How tall are you?" Mrs. Conway asked.

"Six foot." He said.

She gawked. "Oh my gosh, I remember when you were little, and we all went on vacation to Florida, and we went to Sea World. You just hoped you were 54 inches, just so you could ride the Kracken. Oh, how you claimed to wear your skates just so you could be taller." Mrs. Conway laughed.

"Turned out I was exactly 54 inches." He smiled. He looked over to Lily and she smiled wickedly.

"I was 60. Ha ha." She mocked.

"And how tall are you now?" He said.

She scowled. "5'5." This time he smiled with teeth. It was a cute smile. A smile that drove her crazy when she was younger. She didn't know what it had meant at the time, but she was now realizing the connection at this moment. And to her surprise, she wasn't going to make herself stop thinking about it.

The conversation went on, and she noticed that her parents had told his, about the incident. Mr. Adam looked at Lily. His face read sympathy. "Do you think you'll ever skate again?" His voice filled with hope.  
She shrugged. "At the moment, I'm not ready. But when I am, it'll take some time, but I'm just going to take baby steps."

Jordan smiled, noticing she answered his offer before dinner. At the moment, she instantly felt better, about everything. Her life had totally been weird and put out of place after the incident, but now it just seemed to be shaping itself back to the way it's supposed to be. It's like a person who was out of shape, and just realizing that they needed to do something about it, so now it's exercising its way back in to shape.

When they finished dinner, Jordan and Lily went upstairs into her room. Her dad had called the team and invited them over for a Bon fire, and everyone was going to be there later.

She noticed how he was scanning her room, as if he was trying to remember. His eyes came down to her nightstand and he grabbed the photo that she had debated whether or not to frame and put up, or put in back in the homemade lunchbox under the wood. He looked back at her. "You kept this?" He asked.

She shook her head. "The day we left, I had forgotten about the lunchbox we had made, and the stuff that was in it. I saw that photo two weeks ago, when I had realized I had forgotten all about it being under the wood." She looked down at her hands. "I wasn't sure if I was going to put it up and frame it or not."

"It was still there? After all those years?" He asked, chuckling. She nodded. She finally sat back on her bed. He came to sit down beside her. "You know, when I left your house that day, I didn't realize that that was the day you were leaving. I regret what I had said, because you are none of those things, and you never were, and never will. It was stupid of me to say that you weren't pretty, or strong, or smart. Even though I was being sarcastic, it didn't sound like it, and that's what had made you so angry. Face it, I was never good at sarcasm at that age." There was silence as she processed what he said.

"So," she looked up t him. "You think I'm pretty?" She'd meant to say it mockingly, but her voice dropped the jokingly matter.

He looked over to her, then looked away just as fast. "No, you're not just pretty. God, Lil. You freaking gorgeous, you're more beautiful than I remember. You're smart, and you are by all means the toughest girl I've ever met." Her heart that was aching before had somehow seemed more alive. "That's what I was going to say. But you started yelling at me last time, and I didn't know how to fix it." He got up and started pacing in front of her. "You are beautiful, you're more beautiful than I remember. You were also my best friend, and even though you left, I still told people that you were my best friend, because I didn't give up hope."

Lily's face lit up by his speech. She honestly couldn't believe he'd meant to say that, but then again, she had a quick temper. Damn her and her quick temper, if she had just kept her mouth shut, they would probably be in a different situation, that wasn't much of a problem. He stood there looking at the ground, not necessarily facing her, but had his left side to her.

Her face dropped at the thought of her being smart of tough. "If I was smart, I would've kept my helmet on, and watched my back. If I was tough, I would be back on the ice by now."

"Don't think like that." He said. "It was caught up in the moment kind of thing. You couldn't have known anything was going to happen." He began to stand still.

Her dad called them from downstairs. He never flinched. It took a bit of courage, but she grabbed his hand and slowly turned him to face her. Still holding his left hand with her right, she put her left arm around his neck and hugged him. "I forgive you." She whispered. She kissed his cheek lightly, and pulled his hand walking towards the door.


	5. Bon Fire

**Alright, I know it's been a few days but school has started, and I'm already packed with work :( But, I'm going to make a vow right now and update/add a new chapter once a week. Maybe more if I'm lucky.**

**Anyway, this chapter is a little different. I hope you guys like it! By the way, thank you for the reviews! I'm happy to be pleasing people! **

* * *

**Bon Fire**

Connor Averman walked out of his house with Lizzy Duncan. Her, Landon, and their mom had joined Connor's family for dinner, as they did every other Friday night. His parents were good friends with Miss Tammy, considering she and Connor's dad had played hockey together, the first year the Ducks were created. The Duncan's moved to Minneapolis, just before Jordan moved to California.

The air was nice and cool, perfect for a Bon fire. Usually he, Lizzy and Landon would go roller skating, but they couldn't pass up a Bon fire opportunity. The wind blew through the trees ferociously, making Lizzy shiver. Her jacket wasn't very big. He didn't know how she could stand it. He had two long sleeve shirts underneath his, so he took his thick, long sleeve ducks jersey off. She looked at him with curiosity. He smiled and handed her the jacket.

"Connor, keep it. I'm fine." She tried her best not to stutter. She didn't fool him, so he put the head of the Jersey over her head, and forced it on in a not so 'mean' way. The top of her head became frizzed, and he chuckled.

"Put it on, I'm not gonna have you freeze to death." He said. As they were walking, Lizzy put it on and apparently didn't realize that part of her bangs were still sticking up. He turned to stop right in front of her. She looked up at him and he lifted his hand slowly, she pulled her head away. "Relax, Liz. I'm not gonna hurt you." He smiled.

Connor ran his hand through her hair, making it un frizzy. She arched an eyebrow. "You're hair was sticking up from when I put the jersey over your head."

She giggled and looked away, and started walking to the bridge that connected the path to the Conway's house. "You could've told me." Her voice was nervous, she hadn't expected him to do that, and he could tell.

The sky was orange and pink and when he looked closer to the suns spot in the sky, it was bright yellow, almost white. it was a beautiful sky. He shrugged and walked up to Lizzy's side, her bluish-green eyes glistened in the light. Ever since the family problems have raised in her life, Conner always found her coming to him, to try and take her mind off things. This started two years ago, when he was twelve and she was eleven. And just like that, they locked eyes and it had reminded him of a memory.

At that time, she knew Conner, and they were friends, but not like they were now. One day when everything had possibly gone wrong, Lizzy had lost her mind. It was weird for that to happen for an eleven year old in her mind, but she ran away. Her brother was bothered by what had happened and found himself at his grandmothers house, trying to look for her. When she was no where he thought she would be, he had called Connor for help.

Conner didn't know much about Lizzy, so he wasn't sure exactly where to look. Then he had thought to himself, 'if I were upset and angry, where would I go blow off some steam?' It wasn't the best idea, he thought, considering he was a boy and she was a girl, but it was worth a shot. Connor had found him back at the place where he went all the time, but only came at night during the winter season, so he could be alone, and no one to bother him, and he could just do what he loved to do: skate.

He hadn't seen anyone out on the pond, across from the park, a few miles away from his house, but he heard a muffled sound, almost as if someone was crying. He searched again, and he spotted someone curled up in a ball by the tree, skates on her feet. It was dark out, like around 9 o'clock. Connor walked over and had confirmed it was Lizzy, but it wasn't the Lizzy he had known for that short period of time. The Lizzy he knew was always confident and strong. This Lizzy looked broken and weak.

Her lips were blue, and her eyes were puffy. She was shivering ferociously. At that moment, Conner took off his heavy coat and put it around her, as he came to sit down on the cold, wet, snowy ground, beside her.

"C-Connor," her voiced trembled, looking away, covering her face. "G-Go, I d-don't want anyone to see m-me like this, esp-pecially you." The wind blew once more and she flinched and stiffened, trying not to be bothered by it. She didn't fool him, she never had, and possibly never will.

He didn't move other than to put the jacket she had given back on her and pulled her into his arms. Her cold body was frigid through the jacket. Her shivering had made him shake, but she cried right into his torso. He hugged her even tighter. "Shh," he whispered. "It's okay, I'm here. You're fine." He said, not wanting to say the wrong thing. What had surprised him was that she wasn't pulling away, fighting him for freedom, instead after a few minutes, she had calmed down and slowly had stopped shaking.

"How long have you been out here?" He asked in a low voice.  
She pulled her head up to face him. "Since early this morning." He couldn't believe it.

"Liz, you must be starving!" He exclaimed in a whisper.

Her head shook. "I had a couple bars in my bag, and a water bottle, I'm just cold." She said, the shaking coming back as the wind picked up again.

The look on his face clearly read: dissatisfied. "Lizzy, why haven't you gone to shelter? I know you don't want to go home, but you could've at least gone somewhere where it wasn't going to be so cold, or you might've thought to wear better clothing." When she released a breath, it touched his face. He gulped silently. "You could've at least come to find me."

She sniffed. "At first I was listening to music, skating. Just ignoring everything. Then everyone left and my iPod died. Music was gone, and I just didn't want to go home. I tried my best to fight back my emotions, but I can't because of another reason I'm not going to mention-girl stuff-so when I cried my heart out, I couldn't go anywhere. I didn't want people seeming me like this."

Connor stood up. He grabbed her hand to pull her up. Still being on her skates, she slipped, forgetting. He caught her when she did and their faces were centimeters apart. Never in his life had he ever been this close to a girl in this way. Lizzy was the same when it came to a boy. She blushed and immediately looked away. He did too. She took her skates off and put her boots on.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"My house. My mom won't mind you staying over." He paused. "But I do have to call Landon and told him I found you, and where you are going to be." She nodded.

Once they were inside his house, Connor's mom welcomed Lizzy in with open arms. Mrs. Averman had given Lizzy something to change into. And Connor had made them both hot chocolate, and he soon saw the color return to her face.  
Connor snapped back into reality. The memory had only lasted seconds. He never told her, but ever since that night, he's developed a big crush on her. He never told anyone, not even Landon, who was technically his best friend. She smiled shyly as they walked over the bridge.

Just up the small hill to his right was the Conway house, but if you walked down hill to his left was this medium sized area with tons of trees around, but looked out onto the pond. That was where they were setting up the fire pit.

Mr. Charlie and Mr. Adam had spotted them and waved them over. When they came up to him, Connor said, "So, the house isn't on fire and there doesn't seem to be stress in the air, so I assume that my old friends have made up, and everything is all good?"

Mr. Charlie and Mr. Adam looked at each other and chuckled. "Connor, I think things are better than 'Good.'" He quoted 'good' with his fingers. This could only mean one thing, and Connor couldn't help but smile.

Mr. Adam called Lily and Jordan down. We walked up the hill slightly and saw them walk out the back door. They were both laughing when they came up to Connor and Lizzy.

"Hey Connor." Lily said, giving Connor a hug. Lizzy, who was beside him, felt a twinge of jealousy. Lily looked at her, with a sweet face. "Hi, I'm Lily. You must be Lizzy." She stuck her hand out to shake. Lizzy gladly excepted it.

"It's nice to meet you, Lily. I've heard a lot about you today. Well between all the guys at the rink." Lizzy said. Lily laughed. They decided to go get the s'mores from the kitchen, leaving Connor and Jordan alone.

"So, I hear from both your dads that everything looks better than things were." Connor raised an eye brow to Jordan. Jordan laughed out of awkwardness, Connor guessing he didn't know what to say, so Connor continued, "what happened?"

Jordan looked away from Connors gaze. "I don't know, it's like we read each others minds. When I saw her up close, I didn't know what to say. She looked so . . . So . . ."

"Different?" Connor guessed, finishing his faltered words.

There was a nod from Jordan. "Yeah, she sort of had me in shock, until she smiled and threw her arms around me for and hug and apologized." He looked back at Connor. "I told her that she wasn't the person to apologize, but then she explained her story. Man, I feel like a terrible best friend. When she needed me, I wasn't in her life anymore. And it breaks my heart to see her giving up on what used to be her dream." Connor kept nodding in agreement.

There was absolutely no doubt that Lily would've wanted him to be there, but she did have a weakness issue. She was afraid to show weakness and both boys knew it. She didn't want to be treated like a lost cause, or some helpless girl, that can't do anything for herself. And yet, her parents had taken her out of school, and homeschooled her just so they could help and take care of her. Both boys were thinking the same thing.

"Lil must've hated having her parents take her out of regular school, and have her sit at home, or on the road all day so they could watch her and keep her safe. She hated when it seemed like she was a lost cause." Connor said.

A few minutes had passed and Mrs. Conway led the rest of the team to the fire pit. Landon Duncan was running up the path behind them. Lily and Lizzy were walking down with a big bag.

"Hey guys," said Landon. His strawberry blonde hair was sticking to his sweaty face. "Man, the heat had definitely fired up in the house. It was blazing!" He then felt the cold air. Jordan started chuckling, and then Connor joined. "Well, jeez! It's cold out here . . . I better go get a jacket." Jordan and Connor looked at each other and shook their heads as Landon ran down the path to go fetch a jacket.

The two boys jogged over to meet the team by the fire. It was getting darker, and the temperature was dropping fast just like it does in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lizzy was still wrapped in Connor's jacket, standing by Lily. They were laughing hysterically. Connor was glad that they were getting along. Lizzy looked at him and smiled shyly, crossing her arms that were now tangled in the jacket. With Connor returning the smile, Jordan had noticed a connection, but didn't say anything.

Instead, he grabbed Connor's arm and dragged him over to the girls. The night was filled with laughs and questions. Lily seemed to be getting along with all the guys, Lizzy, and little Kylie. Connor still couldn't believe that Kylie was going to play with them. She was so tiny, and sweet. He didn't think she could handle it, but Connor always noticed one thing about Kylie that he always admired: She had Lily's personality.

A few hours after dark, everyone slowly left, leaving Connor, Lily and Jordan talking among themselves.

"So Jordan, how was California?" Connor asked. Lily cocked her head, to the side. Connor didn't think Lily knew about Jordan's move, about a year and a half after she left.

Jordan sighed. "Nothing too special. This tan was cool, but I missed the cool weather and all four seasons. The only seasons there were summer and winter."  
Lily agreed. "I know how you feel, Florida is the exact same way. I learned to like it, but that was after the accident. I didn't appreciate it as much before."

There was silence between all of the kids when she mentioned the accident. As far as Connor knew, he and Jordan were the only ones to know what happened. Lily searched the ground, not really wanting to talk about it, but she met with Kylie's eye, that were asking what had happened.

Lily took a deep breath, and told her story. The coma that lasted a couple weeks. Averman was surprised she didn't suffer any brain damage. "But, unfortunately I did suffer from some memory loss." She said. "So if I don't remember some of you, I apologize in advance."

"But you remember Connor and Jordan clearly?" Asked Devon.

"Yeah, I remember who they are, and most of the memories we shared. There are a few things though, one of them I strained my brain on a few times since I've moved back, but I can't seem to find the memory, I only know one thing, Jordan and Conner were apart of it." She looked at Jordan. "I don't remember the first time I skated." Wow. Connor knew. Only because it was his and Jordan's first time too. From the moment Lily stepped on the ice, he knew that Lily could be out there forever and never leave. Her passion grew stronger everyday. That memory was one of the only memories he remembered as a young kid.

The fact that Lily couldn't remember her first time skating might impact her impression of getting back on the ice. First times are a big deal, and they set the way you feel about doing something. Connor just happens to know a lot about first time experiences. He remembered taking a vow on trying new things this past year. He tried different sports (none of them compared to the way he felt about hockey), he also went to different places with friends. He also found himself his first real crush rather than a celebrity

The way Lily talked, she seemed really stressed. Almost like it had bothered her before she came back. Boy, Lily was good at hiding her emotions. Only Connor seemed to catch it, maybe Jordan did too, but obviously Connor didn't know what Jordan was thinking.

"So, anyway, anyone from the Hawks we should be worried about?" Asked Jordan.

Cole looked at him with a distasteful look. "Nobody now, since I'm here." His tone really made Connor want to knock his teeth out.

"Cocky much, Cole?" Asked Lily. Her personality confidence was really nice.  
He looked at her as if to say, "So what?"

"Don't be too full of yourself. You maybe small and fast, but there are others on this team just as good as you, believe me I know most of them." She was honest. She did know most of them but Landon, Lizzy, and Kylie. Well, she knew Kylie, but not her skill on the ice. The others they went to school with in elementary, and skated with on the pond at recess during the winter.

Cole glanced around to all of the people on the team, until he met with Lily's face again. "I know they're good. What I meant before is that the Hawks aren't too good this year. I was their best player last year. I'm not saying I'm better than anyone here." He said, trying to contain his cockiness. "Everyone here tells me that you're really good on the ice. Well, used to be. They tell me you're funny, energetic, good with words, and confident." Connor didn't know if Cole was attempting to flirt, or just get a reaction out of a few people.

Jordan was waiting, he knew there had to be more to what Cole was getting to. Connor did as well, but he didn't know if it would be bad or good.

Cole continued, "if you're so confident," Connor knew what was coming, and by the reaction from Lily's face, she did too, "then why don't you suck it up and stop acting like a weak girl." Everyone was staring, even the parents. Lily looked around, with lack of confidence. She looked really pissed, but confused, and sad. Connor wasn't sure if it was towards Cole or herself, but Jordan and Conner were definitely pissed at Cole. Lily turned around and walked away towards her house.

"See? Weak." Cole stated when she was inside.

Jordan marched up to Cole, looking as if he was going to hit him, but instead restrained himself. "I think it's time for you to go home."

"But it's a team party. I'm part of the team."

"Your name may be on that list, but you sure is hell aren't part of this team, until you treat everyone with respect, including Lily." He firmly stated.

"Her name ain't on that list. She's not part of the team." He stated, his cocky tone wavered based on the look Jordan was giving him.

"You may not think so, but she is weather you like it or not. She's the Coach's daughter, she'll be at every game, every party, every gathering. She is part of this team, even if she's not playing. What you said was wrong. Imagine if you were in her shoes. What would you say if some kid called you a weak girl?" The looks around the area were given full attention to Jordan and Cole.

"I'd be pretty upset." Cold admitted. He looked at his watch, almost anxious to get out of Jordan's way. "It's getting late anyways, I'd better be getting home."

He didn't even bother saying goodbye. Connor wondered where Cole lived. It must be pretty close if he was walking.

Jordan was good. He stuck up for his friends. Lily would have really appreciated it too. Connor looked around to see that everyone was slowly getting back to conversations, quietly. Lizzy was nowhere to be found though. Jordan was making his way towards the house, so Connor followed with Landon at his side.

"Jordan seems scary when he's mad. Well, now we no not to piss him off." Landon claimed.

Connor laughed. "He only seems scary because it's Lily who he's defending. He does defend his friends, but he's always had that protective thing for Lily. I don't know, but he's done that, even as little kid."

"He likes her." Landon stated.

"Naw, I would've never known that if you hadn't said anything." Connor hinted with sarcasm. He chuckled.

"Like you like my sister." Landon stated slowly.

Connor almost said, 'yeah,' but he caught himself and blushed. "What?" He asked in his high-pitched voice.

"Connor, you don't have to lie. I know you do, and I've known for a while. I just wanted to know why you never told me?"

Connor took a minute before he answered, then he sighed. "Because you're like my best friend, and she's your sister. It's got to be weird for you."

Landon shrugged. "Rather you than some messed up kid like Cole Johnson."

Connor couldn't believe Landon was practically giving him permission to like his sister. "But I don't want to here about her all the time, okay? That's when it'll get weird for me. Besides, I think she likes you too. But don't tell her I told you that."

Connor believed it. That's why Connor started hinting around, maybe she'd get a hint, and maybe start flirting back.

They had made their way into the kitchen and walked straight to the staircase that lead to Lily's room. Once they rounded the stair rail, Lily's door was straight ahead. It had been so long since Connor had been in the house, well everywhere else besides Lily's room. It looked completely different from when he was little.

He opened Lily's door to find Lily talking to Jordan and Lizzy. "Hey, mind if we join?" Connor asked.

"No, not at all." The two joined the conversation.

"Lil, don't listen to Cole, he's a twerp. But he left, probably before he could pee himself." He laughed at his joke.

Lily looked at him in confusion. Connor looked at Lizzy. "You didn't tell her?"

Lizzy then had the same expression, confusion. "Tell her what? And why did Cole leave before he could pee himself?"

Connor patted Jordan on the shoulder, and looked at Lily. "This dude stood up for you, told him to treat you with respect, and that you were part of the team, even if you're not playing."

She looked at him. "Thank You, you didn't have to do anything. I'm sorry about walking away though."

"It's alright. I'd be glad to do it again." Jordan smiled.

Suddenly there was noise coming from downstairs. "Landon! Lizzy! Connor! Time to go!"

Connor looked to Jordan. "Hey, you wanna go roller skating tomorrow?" He asked.

Jordan piped up. "Yeah, sounds like old times." Jordan looked at Landon and Lizzy. "You two want to join us?" They looked pleased, and accepted.

"We should go before mom gets mad." Landon said. "And right now, I'd hate to see her upset." He made his way towards the door. "It was nice meeting you Jordan and Lily."

"You too." The two said in unison.

Lizzy walked over and gave Lily a hug. "It was really nice meeting you. Connor mentioned you and Jordan I don't know how many times. I even saw a picture of you all." She walked up to Jordan and he gave her a side hug.

Jordan looked at Lily, "will you come too?"

Conner knew she was thinking about it. "Please?" Jordan asked. "Baby Steps."  
She smiled slightly and nodded. Lily gave Conner a hug as well, and Jordan gave him a bro hug and he left, "See you guys tomorrow!"

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**What do you think? Review please! Hope you guys are enjoying the start of school.. If you haven't already started. **

**xoxo, **

**Amanda**


	6. Nothing Like a Wonderful Day

**Okay, it's been a week and possibly a day or two. Ughh, I have been so sick of coughing, and sickness, that I feel I need a getaway. I've been on NyQuil for two weeks, and I think I've become immune to the stuff. Is that even possible?**

**Well here is chapter 6. It's a little different, mainly focuses on Jordan and Lily. Spoilers? Nahh, you'll just have to read! Review Please! I love hearing what you have to say. I'm thinking of a mashup name for Jordan and Lily. Hmm, Any Ideas? Let me know! I hope you Enjoy!**

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**Nothing Like a Wonderful Day**

Jordan woke up feeling nice and refreshed. He walked over to his big window. It covered almost half of the wall, but it was centered just perfectly. The light shined through the window so brightly, it blinded him for a moment. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, a perfect day for roller skating.

He put his jeans on, but he couldn't find his California hockey jersey. He thought it might be in the wash, so he made his way down stairs. When he came to the last step he walked through the small hallway that lead to his kitchen to find his mom sitting at the bar with Lily, drinking some coco.

Jordan blinked a few times to make sure it was really Lily. "What are you doin' here this early?" He asked, still groggy sounding from just getting up.

"My mom and dad left this morning, they'll be gone for tonight. So, they asked if I could stay with you guys." Lily said, shyly. He had no idea why, but she didn't look at him directly. He touched his face to make sure he hadn't slobbered on it, although he wasn't a slobberer anyway. Then he looked down to find he wasn't wearing a shirt.

To all honesty, he knew he was definitely not bad looking, and by the look on Lily's face, she knew it too, but was trying not give any looks directly, because his mother was sitting right there.

All Jordan could say was, "cool." His hand found the back of his head to scratch it. "Um, Mom. Have you seen my Cali hockey jersey anywhere?"

"Oh, yeah. It's in the dryer. Let me go get it." She said getting up. Jordan walked over to the cabinet and got out a packet of coco to make, along with some milk.

"So, you ready to roller skate today?" He asked, his back to her.

She set her coco down lightly on the counter. "Um, yeah. I guess." She became nervous once again.

He turned around, and walked over to her. "Lil, you have nothing to be worried about, you're going to be fine. Just remember one thing, have fun." He winked at her as his mom came back in the room, with his jersey. He pulled it over his head, feeling the warmth of the dryer overwhelm him.

Jordan invited Lily upstairs and show her where she'd most likely be sleeping that night. The room next to his. They made there way into his room, and made herself at home, as if this was something they did everyday.

She hopped on his bed and his iPhone was on the Sports Illustrated magazine with earphones attached to them she opened his phone.

"How did you know my password?" He looked at her confused.

She looked up at him and giggled. "I know you better than you think I do, Banks." She was scrolling through something but Jordan couldn't see. "You have dubstep?"

He smirked. "Yeah, and rock, and country, hip-hop, and some pop, but no Justin Bieber. Sorry sweetie." He came and sat right beside her.

She looked at him and rolled her eyes with that attitude. "Yeah, like I would expect you to have him in the first place." He chuckled.

"Oo you have a lot of country! I see a lot of dubstep too. Mostly Skrillex. I assume you're a fan?"

"Of course, but you, you like a lot of country and a lot of dubstep, two totally different genres. Interesting."

She looked up with her beautiful blue eyes, and batted them unintentionally and said, "well considering that this is your phone, you must like the two different genres equally as well."

Still lost in her eyes he blinked, trying to regain his sense of humor. "See, I knew we would have something in common." She didn't just giggle, she laughed. It was genuine and cute. He smiled.

All of a sudden the phone started ringing. Lily unplugged the ear phones and answered it. "Hello?" She said, as Jordan was trying to reach for his phone. "No Jordan didn't turn into a girl." She got up from his bed and walked around. "This isn't his mother either. Jordan is sitting on his bed." Jordan got up and started chasing her around the room. "Now he's chasing me." She flung over the bed like a ninja. She stopped abruptly and scoffed. Jordan stopped as well. "What! How could you think we did that! You're so weird, Connor."

Jordan had had a feeling what Connor said, and that didn't help the feeling he had in his stomach every time he looked at Lily. He needed to get Connor to stop talking. With her on the other side of the bed, Jordan launched himself across. She yelped as he tackled her to the ground. He got up off her and she stood up, almost getting away, but he grabbed her waist and spun her around. She couldn't help but laugh.

Their faces were close. He leaned in slowly, and she did as well, but at the last minute, as he clasped his phone in his hand, he turned away. He wanted to so badly to kiss her, but that would make him seem weak. She looked at him bewildered. "You can't do that!" She exclaimed, he wasn't sure if she was angry or not.

He smirked, knowing that he got her. "Sorry, beautiful." He winked as he walked out of the room, putting the phone up to his ear. "Sorry Connor, Lily and I were gonna listen to music, but what time do you guys want to go?"

From the other side Jordan could hear Connor breathe in. "Well, Landon and Lizzy are over at our house now. We can go anytime." Jordan looked back in the room, and saw that Lily was laying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. Jordan wanted that kiss. He bit back a curse.

"Anytime you want, I guess." Jordan finally said.

"Okay, great. We'll be over soon!" Connor hung up.

Jordan walked back into the room and laid on the bed next to her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tricked you." He had to restrain himself from telling her he wanted it. "I was joking around with you, and I guess I got carried away." He waited a few minutes before he turned his head to face her.

Her blue eyes were already awaiting his. "Well, watch you're back Banks." She winked as she got up off the bed. The way she said it sent shivers up his back.

"Jordan! Lily! Connor, Lizzy, and Landon are here!" Mrs. Banks yelled from downstairs.

When they got downstairs, Lily grabbed her skates from her bag, and took them outside. The Jordan followed with his. His mother would kill him if he had roller skate on in the house. It didn't take long to put his on, including Lily. She stared at the skates on her feet. She knew the weren't ice skates, it was still similar.

"You okay, Lil?" Asked Lizzy.

Lily looked up and took in a deep breath. "Yeah, I just haven't roller skated either since the accident."

"It'll be okay Lil." Jordan reached for her hand. She hesitantly took it. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." Once she was up on her feet. She closed her eyes. Jordan knew the words to say. "Think of something that makes you happy." Slowly she smiled. "Keep that in mind. Also, if you need a hand, all you have to do is reach for one."

"That's what my dad always told us." She said opening her eyes.

He shrugged. "Your dad had a couple lessons to teach us. I guess that one stuck."

Lily took a deep breath and slid one foot out, and then the other, until it was continuous. She went around the round driveway, and back to the group. She was smiling. "Let's go!" She said excitedly.

They skated for hours around the neighborhood, and back to grab money for Jordan and Lily. Then they made their way into part of the small suburb town outside Minneapolis. They skated their way into a diner and sat down at one of the tables. Ms. Tammy came up.

"I had a feeling you all would be here for lunch. I see that you three have added two more to you're skating group. Hi Jordan. Hi Lily." She smiled.

They returned one as well, when Connor started telling her what he wanted for lunch. The rest of them joined in.

"So, Lily. After today, you think you might get back on the ice?" Landon asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe." She looked at Jordan. "I think I'm gonna need a hand though."

He smiled. "I'll be there."

After lunch, they went back outside, and roller skated for a few more hours and went back to their house. By the time they got back, their cheeks and noses were red from the cold.

Once they were coming around the curb into their neighborhood, Lily slipped, and fell. Jordan made his way to Lily. She tumbled over twice before stopping. "Lil!" He panicked. He leaned down and took her hand. "You're okay. You're fine." He helped her back up and gave her a hug. "Oh, you scare the Holy Jesus out of me."

"Lily! Are you okay." Landon and Lizzy asked in unison.

She took a deep breath a smiled, a little. "I'm fine. I just need to watch out for that curb next time."

"Yeah, you don't want to scratch up that beautiful face of yours." Jordan admitted. She blushed. He was very please to the affect he had on Lily.

They made their way inside where Jordan's mom had hot chocolate hot and ready for them to drink. It was getting late. Jordan couldn't believe the day he had spending with Lily and Connor, like they did when they were kids, only he had two more friends to add to his memories.

Soon Landon and Lizzy left, only to have Connor and Lily sitting in Jordan's bedroom.

"You guys realize that this is the first time we're all in one room, just us, for the first time since we were little?" Lily mentioned.

Connor smiled. "Yeah, I have something to show you guys." He brought out his wallet, and took out something that looked like a photo. "I found this last year. Ever since I kept it because I felt I needed the two people who understood me close, even it was just a memory stuck on a piece of paper."

Jordan caught a glimpse of it. Three little kids sit with skates on, on the ice right out their back doors, arms linked around each other, laughing as if nothing bad would ever seem to exist. Lily crept over Jordan's shoulder to take a peek.

"Wow, can you believe things have changed since then?" She said.

Jordan had no idea how much they had. The little girl in the photo resembled someone who lived for the ice, even at eight years old. Now, she can't even look at the ice without showing fear.

They gave Connor the photo back when his mom walked into the room. "Time to go Bud." She said. "Don't worry, you see them tomorrow."

He walked towards the door before turning around. Night guys, see you tomorrow!" He said as his mother said goodbye to the two sitting on the bed.

Lily placed her hands on her lap. "Well, I'm going to take a shower before dinner." She got up and walked out. It wasn't long before she came out, wrapped in a robe. Her hair was really long. She made her way to the guest room.

He went in to take a shower. As the warm water un-tigntened his muscles, he relaxed. He thought about earlier today.

He was so close to kissing Lily. He knew himself that he had a massive crush on her, even when they were little. All it took was one day and a few hours to know that they were best friends again, and Jordan didn't want to sabotage their friendship, even if it was a kiss.

He got out and put a towel around his waist,and walked out the door to head to his room, when he ran in to Lily. Literally. His towel almost slipped off him, so hesitantly he grabbed and held on to it. He hoped Lily hadn't seen anything in the process. She looked flustered, and didn't stare at him directly.

"What?" He asked. She looked him in the face with confusion. "Why are you giving that look?"

"What look?" She was wearing gray sweat pants and blue tank top, with bright green ankle socks on her feat. Her hair was down, but still wet.

"The 'I can't look at you directly' face." He looked around to see if his mom and dad were around. No sign. "Am I that bad to look at?" She then looked at him as if he had two heads.

"No, it's because . . . It's because you . . . Are good looking." She said, slowly.

He smirked feeling confident in himself. "And that's a bad thing?"

She shook her head. "You are also wearing a towel right now, and it almost slipped off of you, and you should go put some clothes on so we can go eat dinner." She then walked into the guest room.

He made his way into his room, and closed the door. He grabbed some long, black pajama bottoms and a muscle tank to put on, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." He said once he was dressed.

"Hun, dinner is ready." His mother told him.

He walked down stairs and sat down to spaghetti and meatballs. He always loved eating this. He looked at Lily, and noticed she was staring at him. He waved his hand in her face and she looked away. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I was just zoned out I guess. I'm fine though." She claimed. He nodded, still unsure. Her facial expression seemed to remain the same distant sadness.

"So how was skating today?" Mrs. Banks asked.

Lily piped up. "It was fun. Its seemed like old times. Times I've missed."

"Yeah, it was fun. I'm glad we have Landon and Lizzy added to our group. They seem to make it complete from when we were little." Jordan added.

Mr. Banks took a sip of water, and sighed. "Ms. Tammy and her brother played with me and Mr. Charlie, our first year the Ducks came together. Tammy left after that, keeping in touch with most of us through the years. The only person she really kept in touch with was Connor's mom and dad. They were good friends. So a year after you left Lily, and a couple weeks after we left, Tammy landed herself back in Minneapolis, separated from her husband, and left with Landon and Lizzy to take care of." Jordan's dad seemed to know a lot. "She moved back to be closer to her parents, if they had money troubles."

Lily sighed. "Back in Florida, I got to see Uncle Fulton and Uncle Portman a lot. Dad told me all the crazy things you all did throughout high school, and college."

Mr. Banks chuckled. "Yeah, we got into a lot of trouble back then. There was a lot of rivalry too, between me and the Ducks considering I wasn't one when the team was made. I was on the Hawks by district mistake. But I had played with the Hawks since i was little. At first, the team didn't accept me. Your dad was willing though. It just took a little faith and a pep talk from Coach Bombay for the whole team to realize I wasn't all bad. All I wanted to do was play hockey. It was either play with the Ducks or don't play at all."

Mrs. Banks looked at the two kids eating the spaghetti. "What he's trying to say, is that don't make the mistakes he made, and accept everyone on the team, even if one of the can be difficult." Jordan had the strange feeling she was talking about Cole.

"I was just trying to stand up for a friend. I don't know him, and he doesn't know Lily. He shouldn't have said what he said. It was wrong." Jordan's head was lowered.

"I know sweetie. And what you did, Mr. Charlie appreciated you standing up for her, and also handling it the mature way to where it didn't end in a fist fight. Just be nice. He's your team mate. At least act lie you like him on the ice." She said calmly, hoping he son's anger towards Cole would die down.

After dinner, his mother told him to do the dishes, and Lily offered to help. His mom went to her room, and his dad went to his study on the other side of the house.

"Jordan, don't worry about it. I had a weak moment. He caught me off guard, I didn't know what to say so I walked away. What you did, what Connor said you did. That was really sweet. Thank you." She looked around. "And today when I fell, I was tempted to take off the skates and walk home. But, you had your hand there for me to grab. Thank You for that." She said as the last dish went in the dish washer.

Jordan couldn't help but smile. Then she walked by and brushed her hand lightly against his, but he didn't know if it was on purpose or not. She kept walking on as if nothing had happened. Not even looked back to see if he had moved or anything. He closed the dish washer door, and began making his way up stairs.

Lily stopped in front of her door, and Jordan met her. "I'm tired from today. I had a lot of fun! I hope we can make this a usual thing. I want to get back into a system. Everything is different here than in Florida." She sighed. "Good night, Jordan."

He smiled, and held out his arms for a hug. She gladly excepted. With his chin on her shoulder, he whispered in her ear. "Good night Lil. Sweet dreams." He let go and as she turned around, he could honestly see her smiling walking inside the guest room.

Jordan took a deep breath, and took off his shirt before getting into bed. It had been a long, fun day for him. He was tired, but not tired enough, so he grabbed his head phones and pressed the play button as the lights went off. Jack Johnson was on replay for music to relax to. Bubble Toes, Banana Pancakes, and Better Together went through before he changed to a different artist. It seemed like minutes went by before he knew he was asleep.

It was dreamless, a black blob, until he heard something. His eyes opened slowly. He rubbed his eyes and sat up to look around. Nothing was there. The clock read 3:17 AM. He sighed. Then he heard something again. It sounded like a whisper coming from the wall. He inched closer and realized that Lily was on the other side. All of a sudden something hit the wall on the other side. Jordan got off his bed, and made his way towards the door.

He walked out, and walked around to the guest bedroom and opened that one, closed it behind him, and walked to the bed. Lily lay there tossing around. She was moaning as if she was scared. Jordan sat on the bed, and touched her arm.

"Lily, wake up." He whispered. She still was moving around, trying to breathe. "Lily, wake up!" He said aloud this time, more urgently.

She did this for another few seconds until, Jordan shook both of her arms. "No!" She cried out, as she sat up. She was on the verge of tears. Jordan had no second thoughts about it, he wrapped his arms around her in a secure hug. They stayed like that for a while. No words had to be spoken for him to know what Lily's dream was about. After she calmed down, he did the only thing he figured he could do, and that was stay with her for the night.

He moved around until he was on the opposite side of her, but once he was laying on his back, she laid down beside him, putting her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her. Jordan thought about this, and he liked it. He had never felt this close to Lily, but he liked it, as if it was a natural thing they did. After a while of laying there in silence, he drifted off to sleep, not giving to thoughts about what they were both going to think come the morning.

* * *

**Well? What do you think? It took a while to write because of writers block as well. I could use help on ideas. But I definitely have a surprise for you guys! I'm not sure if it'll be the next chapter, but we'll see how it goes. **

**Also I'm on twitter, yes I finally got a twitter last week. I've done Instagram and Facebook, I needed something new, so if you have a twitter, follow me manderssluvsyou :) Review/Favorite/Follow!**

**Stay Classy, xoxo**

**Amanda3**


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